Truthfully, I do not see a blanket as a factor. I routinely use blankets, or
more often, nursing flaps on my dress to nurse modestly. However I had once
seen a chocking baby being mishandled by panicked Dad. A piece of cracker
was stuck in the throat. The baby was chocking and turning pale. The Father
was running around screaming in panic with a baby in hands. I god my DH to
pin the panicked man down and got the cracker out. Very fast, when you know
what you are doing. But if DH was not there I would not have been able to
get the baby away from a panicked man and the precious time would have been
lost.
Possibly this is what happened here. The Mom panicked and no one knew what
to do until the crucial time was lost.
What outraged me about the article is that breastfeeding, but not
bottle-feeding is deemed unsafe. While physiologically it is just the
opposite.
Also, since it got warm our friends have impressed upon as the importance of
drinking water all the time and checking the kids all the time to make sure
that they are not dehydrated. I do not see how one can stay on the bus with
a baby for 2 or 3 hours without nursing that baby. I think it would be
downright dangerous.
--
Henya
Migdal HaEmek, Israel
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On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 7:34 AM, Hannah Katsman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Lactnetters,
>
> Quick intro: I recently rejoined Lactnet after a long hiatus. I'm an LLL
> Leader in Petach Tikva, Israel and sat for the IBCLC exam in August.
>
> About two weeks ago a baby in Jerusalem turned blue and suffered brain
> damage while breastfeeding on a bus.
> The newspapers reported that the breastfeeding may have been a factor in
> this tragic incident. I have heard from local sources that the baby
> suffocated because the mother was trying to feed modestly under a blanket.
>
> Last Sunday, the director of Beterem, Israel's main child safety
> organization, was interviewed in the newspaper Haaretz about a baby who
> died
> after being forgotten in a car. At the end of the interview she is asked
> about the bus incident:
>
> "A baby of a month and a half is now in hospital in very serious condition
> after choking while his mother nursed him on a bus. Is it dangerous to
> nurse
> a baby when traveling?
>
> Absolutely. Parents must know that it is forbidden to nurse babies during
> traveling. The baby's windpipe is only the size of the small finger on a
> hand. Very few things can pass through there with ease. Secondly, the cough
> reflex that exists in a child or adult does not exist in the same way in a
> baby. A baby that has drunk too large an amount of liquid cannot bring it
> up
> and he chokes. Also, the movement during traveling causes liquids to go
> into
> the windpipe. Just as we do not read while traveling, or get dressed while
> traveling, we must not nurse while traveling. It's better to hear the baby
> cry with hunger for a short while than to nurse him while traveling. It's
> in
> our hands."
>
> Link:
>
> http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/kids-safety-expert-orly-silvinger-why-are-children-hurt-particularly-in-summer-1.377915
>
> I only just saw the English now, and the line about reading or dressing
> does
> not appear in the original Hebrew. I get sick while reading on a bus but
> I've noticed that it's a popular activity.
>
> I have not determined whether this is a long-standing policy of Beterem or
> a
> kneejerk response to this incident. As I wrote above, the baby probably
> suffocated, making Silvinger's comments about breastmilk in the windpipe
> and
> coughing irrelevant in this case. But Hebrew doesn't distinguish between
> choking and breastfeeding, so the news reports were ambiguous.
>
> I spoke to a senior pediatrician in the emergency room at the local
> children's hospital, who in 20 years has never seen a healthy baby suffer
> damage from choking on breastmilk or formula.
>
> After I wrote to Beterem the director tried to contact me and then went on
> vacation, so I should be speaking to her in about a week. Here are my
> questions to you in advance of the discussion:
>
> 1. Have you ever heard of this concern about breastfeeding in a moving
> vehicle? The issue is NOT that the baby is unrestrained. Have other
> safety
> organizations issued similar guidelines?
> 2. Shouldn't there be similar concern about bottle-feeding or solid
> foods?
> 3. Is anyone aware of studies that have addressed this issue?
> 4. Are there any cases of babies who suffered damage from choking on a
> liquid while traveling (excluding those with neurological or other issues
> related to swallowing)?
>
> I hope that this will not be another reason to harass mothers who nurse in
> public. Of course, this most affects poorer mothers who rely on public
> transport. I've also written about it on my website:
> http://www.amotherinisrael.com/new-safety-rule-dont-feed-babies-on-the-bus
>
> Hannah Katsman
> LLLI
> Petach Tikva, Israel
>
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